Key members of an international criminal organization suspected of carrying out massive ransomware attacks on South Korean companies and universities in 2019 have been arrested in a joint investigation by South Korea and a few other countries, police here said Friday. The joint investigation, which also involved Ukraine's police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States and Interpol, busted four members of the unnamed criminal organization, including its money laundering chief,

About 1,000 food delivery workers will walk off the job next week as part of a general strike called by one of the country's two umbrella labor organizations, union officials said Friday. Delivery workers of South Korea's leading food delivery services, Baedal Minjok, Coupang Eats and Yogiyo, designated Wednesday next week as "No-delivery Day" and will take part in the general walkout called by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), official said. They plan to call for the

The current social distancing rules will be extended for another two weeks, with some easing of the restrictions, officials said Friday. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday, “We would like to take a step closer to daily recovery while reducing the risk of infection by easing quarantine rules centered on those who have been vaccinated.” Starting next week, up to eight people will be able to gather in the Greater Seoul area at any time, as long as four in the group are fully vac

A North Korean defector has been sentenced to six months in prison for breaking into a police station in Seoul and pouring flour over an officer as part of streaming online, judicial sources said Friday. The 24-year-old, whose identity was withheld, climbed over a wire fence into Gwanak Police Station in southern Seoul in June, charged toward the officer on duty and dumped flour over him, saying he would test police capability to respond to an infiltration. The defector was also charged with d

South Korea's daily new COVID-19 cases stayed in the 1,000s for the seventh straight day Friday as the government announced eased social distancing rules ahead of a gradual return to normal life. The country added 1,684 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,670 local infections, raising the total caseload to 339,361, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily number of COVID-19 cases has stayed in the quadruple digits since July 7. The country added eight more

South Korea’s top health agency said Thursday that it would be evaluating the age recommendations for the use of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in the wake of recent decisions by some European countries and Japan, which are now discouraging its use in some young people. Hong Jeong-ik, head of the KDCA’s vaccination management division, told a news briefing that the national advisory committee on immunization practices and a panel of outside experts would be conducting a safety revi

Kwon Jun-wook, the Korea National Institute of Health’s director, said Thursday that he sees a full vaccination rate of 85 percent as the threshold for defeating COVID-19’s delta variant, even without wearing face masks and other social distancing restrictions in place. During a televised briefing, Kwon said, “An 85 percent fully vaccination rate roughly translates to an 80 percent herd immunity, by which point, theoretically, even the delta variant can be beaten without the

Designers should have a grasp on artificial intelligence to build a system that is fully aware of what users want in advance, said Yong Kim, chief product officer at Woowa Brothers, which runs delivery app Baemin, at this year’s Herald Design Forum on Thursday. “Users shouldn’t have to tell their apps what they want, when they want it. They should be given choices they like and that will be the new human-machine interface,” Kim said. Kim referred to GPT-3, a language-ge

Justice Ministry’s disciplinary action called legitimate, but insufficient

The chief of the International Association of Prosecutors took part in the 31st Meeting of the Coordination Council of Prosecutors General of the Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) held in Nursultan, Kazakhstan, on Sept. 23, to discuss ways to cooperate on issues like terrorism, drugs, corruption, environment and cybercrime. The meeting was held offline for the second year due to the COVID-19 situation. All prosecutors general from the nine member countries atten

A major umbrella labor union said Thursday it will hold a large-scale rally in central Seoul next week when its members walk off their jobs for a one-day general strike to call for the enhancement of labor rights. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), one of the country's two umbrella labor organizations, said it will push ahead with its plan to stage a strike on Wednesday next week. The KCTU said its members from Seoul, the surrounding Gyeonggi Province and the city of Incheon, we

Strong writing is an essential element of communication and a key component of leadership. To promote such writing, Korea Herald recently announced the 2021 Korea Herald –Pioneer Academics Essay Contest, an ambitious collaboration with the research program leader Pioneer Academics, to encourage Korean high school students to advance their writing skills and critical thinking. Mr. Nicholas Lee, representing Korea Herald, sees the collaboration with Pioneer Academics as empowering, and is pl

Displaced Afghans staying in Jincheon learn Korean language, culture, policies to stand on their feet

Cho Ju-bin could stay in prison longer depending on results of another trial

South Korea's state intelligence agency said Thursday it has agreed to cooperate with a local university to support education programs in the counterespionage and security fields in a bid to help train skilled manpower. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Myongji University, which has campuses in Seoul and Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, to that effect. The university plans to create a Master's and Doctorate defense and security progra